Cayenne Caramel Brownies

I unofficially moved into my boyfriend Jordan's new house almost two full weeks before him. It's just too convenient. The location cuts my commute from hours to minutes. I'm getting more sleep than I ever have in my working life. 

If his roommates were anyone else they probably would have thought it was weird, but I like to think I'm not just "their friend's girlfriend" to them. I'm also their baker.

Jokes.

But they did put an oven on their list of requirements while house hunting, just for me. Ain't that sweet?

We're building up the spice rack in the kitchen. It's sparse, but it's interesting. Off the top of my head I know we have himalayan pink salt, cardamom, and cayenne. I have plans for the cardamom but today is about the cayenne. 

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I jumped the gun on the fall flavors when I thought of these brownies. They were inspired by Mexican hot chocolate, only the spicy cayenne is in the caramel I made to accompany the brownies, instead of the brownies themselves. I figured it'd be more appealing if people could add as little or as much as they want - I didn't want to alienate the less adventurous, nor limit the bold.

Being the first thing I made in the new place, I think of these cayenne caramel brownies as my own little housewarming. 

Ingredients:

Brownies:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)
• 1 1/2 cups  sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tbs vanilla extract
• 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels (optional)

Cayenne Caramel

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 tbs butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Method

Brownies:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 square pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang for premium ease in brownie extraction. Lightly grease.
• Combine melted butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl between each egg. Add vanilla, mix well.
• Sift the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add flour mixture to the egg mixture, mixing by hand. The batter will be thick, but pourable. Optional: gently fold in chocolate morsels once batter has come together.
• Pour batter into the 8x8 pan. Spread evenly. Bake for 20 min, or until a toothpick or knife comes out with fudge-y crumbs attached (as opposed to liquid batter). The top of the brownies will look matte and crinkled. 
• Once baked, remove from oven and let the brownies cool in pan atop a wire rack.

Cayenne Caramel

• Gather all the ingredients together on the kitchen counter next to the stove. The butter and cream should be easily reached; caramel will go from perfect to burnt in a matter of seconds. 
• In a medium pot or saucepan, swirl together sugar and water. Once combined, place the pot over medium heat. 
• Allow the syrup to boil, swirling occasionally. Do not leave the stove: once all the water has evaporated, the sugar will caramelize quickly. 
• The syrup will soon turn a deep amber color, be ready. As soon as you notice the change from off-clear to yellow, have the butter in your hand ready to go. Once the deep amber color is achieved, add all the butter to the pot, and carefully whisk until combined. The mixture will bubble furiously due to the temperature difference between the butter and the sugar.
• Once butter is combined, slowly trickle the heavy cream into the pot. Again, the caramel will bubble furiously. Continue whisking to combine.
• Let the caramel boil for up to two minutes, until the desired consistency is reached. (If you over boil, add more heavy cream to the mixture in small increments). 
• Remove pot from heat. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne, stirring well. Take the time to allow the mixture to cool before tasting - caramel burns are no joke. 
• If desired, add more cayenne in 1/8 teaspoon amounts. Taste as you go and try to be patient - cayenne's smokiness builds in the back of your throat, and may not be immediately present on your palate. 

Assembly: 

• Once brownies are fully cooled (may take a couple hours), slice into either 9 squares or 10 slim bars with a sharp knife. 
• Drizzle cayenne caramel onto the brownies with a spoon. 
• Sprinkle your desired topping - I went with toffee to complement the caramel and give a crunchy element to the bars. I also took the liberty of sprinkling some coarse salt to bring out the cayenne a bit more.